


Emulated Love

by alpacaswithhats



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, F/M, My First AO3 Post, Oneshot Series, Slow To Update, also give me more twerp/rocket friendship, no beta we die like men, not enough Rocketshipping on AO3, these two are my life, this is kinda weird
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 16:46:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11256897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alpacaswithhats/pseuds/alpacaswithhats
Summary: Just the random Reincarnation/Android Rocketshipping AU nobody asked for. Like ever.(I swear, it actually makes sense if you read the prologue.)Update: The prologue actually exists now, it's a miracle!





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry for this, I don't actually know how much of this makes sense without a complete written story. These are literally just Oneshots and drabbles of an actual plot that I thought of I don't know how long ago.
> 
> I'm not used to creative writing and English isn't even my first language so please be gentle with me...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, here it actually is? It happened? I'm super sorry for posting this like over a month later but I'm not really a consistent writer, I'm really sorry! Either way I hope I can get the concept of the AU across, so the oneshots make more sense to everyone! This actually got pretty bulky and focuses a lot on the beginning of the universe, because I live for space. I'm just a student so this isn't 100% accurate and a lot of it was twisted for my AU concept so please don't expect a scientific essay. xD
> 
> (This doesn't contain what happened to our lovelies in the past as this will be covered as the drabbles progress, I hope you can look forward to it!)

"Brotheeeer, can you tell me another bedtime story?" Her voice echoed through the dark hallway while she pulled him towards her room, leaving him no choice but to comply. She was too old for bedtime stories, looking at it from a reasonable point of view, but this was the only real time for bonding moments when his job kept him this busy, so he couldn't care less. The sparkle in her eyes and the laugh ringing in her voice were worth it either way. Arriving in her room, she immediately climbed in her bed while he went to pull down the blinds. Soft moonlight was illuminating her light hair, making it look ghostly white and giving her such an ethereal glimmer, it almost physically pained him to shut the faint glow of the moon out of her room. The place looked oddly transformed, now bathed in nothing but her purple nightlight, but he paid it no mind under her expecting gaze.               

        

"So, what story do you want to hear, Rei?" He smiled softly at her as he couldn't help his fondness seeping into his voice. Asking was only a pretense as they both knew exactly what story she would ask for. It was the same every time they had the opportunity for cozy nights like this and while he couldn't help but wonder what about this tale intrigued her so much, he was scarcely able to deny her this simple request.

 

Her eyes never once lost this spark of awe when she would ask him for the story. "Please tell me the story about the Ether and the androids, please!" So she wished and he would deliver every time.

                       

He simply nodded and began once again.

 

"It all started a long, long time ago." "How long? Was it very long?", she interrupted him excitedly even though she knew the story just as well as him by now. It was part of this little game they played at such nights, so he simply chuckled and went on since he knew she would stop talking once she got really into it.             

          

"Yes, a very long time ago, unimaginably long, at the beginning of the universe. The scientists call this event the Big Bang, but from what humanity knows of now, it was a much more gradual transition than the name implies. At first, the whole universe was nothing but a mass of energy, invisible to everyone, pulsating in an endless dark void. This core energy was named "Ether" by us. During the so called Big Bang, which didn't take place at once like everyone first expected, but over the course of millions of years, the Ether started extending through space and time."        

               

"And when that happened, it turned into galaxies and stars and planets, right?", she asked in awe, she always was fascinated by space and it wasn't like he was much different so he nodded eagerly. "You could say so, yes. As the Ether extended, it was formed into first objects and shapes. Stars, radiating Ether which we can perceive as light. Planets with Ether so tightly concentrated at one point that some even form a dense object made of hard minerals like the earth we're living on."       

                

"But the earth is special, isn't it? I mean with all the life on it, you know?", she pulled him onward in his words and he willingly followed her pace throughout the tale.

 

"That's true. Because the earth has a certain distance from the sun, it receives an amount of Ether rays that life, as we know it, favors. Also, a lot of planets have an atmosphere, but they are all pretty different from ours. They have to contain all the Ether that is stored in all the life forms spread on our planet. Because of that, their gases are usually more complex or there are very powerful storms of the raging Ether energy that has no other way of unloading. It's different for every planet how exactly the Ether is contained in its system."                       

 

"So basically the earth is just lucky that it's placed in the spot it is?" He laughed at that. "Yeah, that's pretty much it. But since all the planets and everything else in the universe are still moving, it's likely that the earth won't stay in this comfort zone forever and another planet gets to be doted on like this. Studies say that Mars was likely to have been in that zone before Earth, but it seems like the Ether didn't produce the forms of higher life we know from our planet."            

           

"But how exactly did life come to exist on earth? It's not like it has always been there, right?" He shook his head. "Of course not, like everything in the universe, the evolution of life was gradual. Our atmosphere wasn't fit for life like nowadays at first either, it lacked the large amount of oxygen. But since it was neither too hot nor too cold because of our perfect distance from our nearby star, the sun, the Ether had a chance to continue growing and changing. It turned into first life in the form of bacteria who live on the carbon dioxide of our atmosphere and turned it into oxygen. They developed into other small life forms, which then turned into plants and the first Pokémon during evolution. Because of the plants, there was finally enough oxygen for life on our planet. Humans, however, didn't even begin to exist until way later in the evolutionary chain."                       

 

She nodded eagerly, attentive to every word he said like it was her first time hearing this story. "How are things now though? Is life still evolving?"

 

He shrugged. "It most likely is but I doubt we will be able to notice any of it in our short existence. But who knows? Technology is advancing quickly, so who can tell what we will know eventually? Since I know you are dying to get to the androids, let's continue with the story for now though. As we learned so far, every living being, every cell and molecule, whether organic or inorganic, is made of Ether. Beyond all our differences, at the core, everything is made out of the universe's energy and so when our lives fade away, this is all that we will be. Ether. We return to the pool of energy like every other vanished thing and our Ether will be shaped into something new and different entirely. We may be humans now, but after our death, we could become trees, Pokémon, water or maybe even cosmic matter, who knows? Even though it appears that our energy is limited to the earth's very own Ether cycle, how can we really be sure it will stay there forever?"

                       

"But scientists have found a consistency in the way our Ether returns, haven't they?" She looked really thoughtful which made her appear way wiser than a girl at the age of 12 should be, but she was very smart and she wasn't wrong. "I guess that is right, but is it really like that for all Ether?" We both trailed off into our own thoughts.                      

 

"I doubt we will really ever know for sure, but let's continue for now." She nodded faintly so he took this as his cue to continue. "As humanity grew more and more intelligent and our methods of recording data improved, scientists noticed something very unusual. In their recordings, some people seemed to appear again after an irregular span of time. Some things were different though: they didn't look exactly the same among other things but they were undeniably connected. They found such phenomena quite frequently afterwards, so scientists started to look into it."                  

     

"And they found out what it is!" she nearly yelled in excitement. This part was always her favourite. "They sure did. It seems like some bundles of Ether -for a lack of a better word for it-, which make up a human and possibly any other creature, stays together during the transformation of the Ether into something else."              

         

"So when that Ether happens to take on a human form again, it's kind of like they were reborn, right?" He hesitated for a moment. "I'm not too sure about that personally. But it's true that scientists refer to this core Ether as somebody's soul and that they named the process of said human soul returning as a human once again reincarnating. But honestly? It's not as great as everyone makes it out to be."                       

 

A long silence followed afterwards. She simply looked at him as if she was trying to stare right into his very own soul and understand his reasoning. That was something she would be excited to try for sure, if it was possible to actually see someone’s soul Ether.                       

 

"It's because of how humanity used that knowledge and developed the androids, right?" Her voice was merely a whisper, but there was so much understanding in her eyes that he had to look away for a moment.      

                 

Instead of answering directly, he simply nodded with a solemn expression on his face. "But isn't it your job to take care of them and maintain them? Don't you love your job?", she asked carefully. "Yeah, I guess I do. But the idea that humans believe they have the power to control the Ether cycle doesn't sit well with me." She nodded with sympathy and he had to clear his throat because it felt awfully tight. He should know better by now, but her incredible ability to completely empathize with someone like that still caught him off guard sometimes.  

 

"Okay let's continue, shall we? As I said before, human technology advanced and so did humanity's awareness of the Ether cycle as well as its greed. They gained knowledge of the souls and reincarnation and they wanted to use it for their own wishes. In order to do that, they started experimenting. I don't want to go into any details, but in the end, they managed to contain a soul in a special box and protect it from the influence of the Ether cycle, being able to keep it stored there for as long as they wished. From there on, they started building a replica of that person, an unfading body that could safely contain the isolated soul, without it coming in contact with the Ether cycle.

 

And after spending huge funds and enduring a lot of failures, they created the first functioning android. From that point on, the prototype was only improved further until it became a business, even available for the middleclass by now, even though it still is kind of expensive. And that was the story of how humanity twisted a perfectly good natural healing process into a business idea." He couldn't even keep the bitterness out of his voice anymore and he didn't really bother either. Reika knew him too well to see right through him, no matter if he tried to conceal it or not.                       

 

"And you are the android doctor." It wasn't a question, so he didn't give her an answer this time, only a shrug. At first, he didn't like that phrasing, but now he supposed it was true in a way. He was the equivalent of a doctor for them, checking on them and replacing their parts. He liked his job and he liked the people he got to help through it, but he also couldn't help but wish that humanity had never gained so much power over the Ether.

 

It was unnatural. It was selfish. It was damaging for everyone.

 

He knew a lot of androids who despised their existence, who wished they were never created, no matter what good intensions were behind it. And while he knew that losing someone was so incredibly _painful_ , he wouldn’t be able to bind a beloved person to this life against their will. No matter how much it hurt, he couldn’t imagine taking someone’s freedom like this and possibly working against them, only to fulfill an egoistic desire like this.

 

Everything was meant to fade. Every creature was born, given a certain time, only to die and return to the Ether cycle. Every debris, every material, every substance was created with a time limit as well, only to fall apart to Ether again. That’s how it should be. Not souls trapped inside fabricated bodies, a strong _need_ echoing through their artificial core, which equaled the human heart more than it really should, a lost connection, the wish for contact, to _search_ and _find_ that one person they were created for.

 

And when they did, what then? They were forced to watch them wither away, as their organic bodies aged with time, holding their hand on their deathbed, caring for their graves as they were left behind, mostly untouched by both space and time.

 

Many authors indulged themselves into android story lines, a heartfelt reunion after a lifetime of separation. That was merely hopeful thinking. Life wasn’t kind to those who betrayed it and would simply lead the already suffering androids to their lost partners.

 

While he was lost in his own negative thoughts, Reika had long fallen asleep soundly. He smiled softly and left the room as quietly as he could. He didn’t care what all those businessmen and enthusiasts said.

 

He would never build an android and seal someone’s fate this cruelly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm so sorry that you had to read all of this confusing stuff? I swear the whole plot was good in my head, please give this a chance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Some things don’t change, no matter how much time passes. She always liked to tell herself that she would be just fine alone."
> 
> Sleep never came easy to Jessie, even as a human. Now it seemed downright impossible.  
> Painful memories tend to knock on your door whenever you try to shut them out.  
> And while she always was quite skilled at shutting out people, escaping her own mind is something she could never truly master.

Soft moonlight covered the night in its soft glow as more and more stars started to disappear behind the first allusions of dawn. Morning was slowly crawling closer yet the late hour did nothing to ease the tension in her body. She couldn’t sleep, again similar to the past weeks or was it months already? Time was such an abstract concept for her current form that she could hardly remember its passing. A dull ache kept her awake at night, preventing her body to sink into any sort of slumber.

A heavy sigh left her lips as she walked made her way back inside. She had hoped the clear night breeze would cool down her mind but nothing like that happened. No matter what she tried in the past, it never worked. She knew it was hopeless, knew where the problem was lying, but she still kept on trying. It wasn’t like she had any other choice. Her body grew heavier each passing day and every move started to feel more tiring than the day before. She didn’t feel this exhausted ever before, yet her body seemed unable to relax.

She turned her back to the beautiful night sky and walked back into the lovely house she was allowed to stay in recently. The lonely cottage was adorned with huge windows, which let in a lot of light during the day, and a little garden, well taken care of by the residents. The atmosphere was surprisingly peaceful, a rare sight in today’s hectic society. It almost calmed her nerves a bit.

She let out a dry laugh as she closed the dark mahogany door behind her. The echoing sound of the door falling shut felt almost unnaturally loud in the untainted silence of the hallway. She was really thankful for the isolated area of this place even though it was a bit of a hassle concerning basic chores such as groceries shopping.

The sound of cautious steps reached her sensitive ears even before her eyes could adjust to the darkness enough to make out the slender figure leaning against the doorframe leading to the small but cozy living room. She spent enough time with this girl to imagine her facial expression: the small frown on her face, which didn’t seem to suit her delicate features at all, her pursed rosy lips and the way her worried eyes seemed to shine even in the dark.

Before she had the chance to even open her mouth, Jessie interrupted her, knowing exactly what she was thinking. “I’m fine, don’t worry. I’m just not really tired.”

The same fake smile, the same words every day. Lies. Always lies.

But she owed them too much, couldn’t afford to increase her debt by making them worry even more. She had no chance of ever making it up to them for everything they have done for her anyways.

Unfortunately, as much as she knew Dawn, Dawn knew her just as well. She never wanted this to happen, she preferred to keep her distance ever since she could recall but _some people_ just knew how to wind themselves into your life and into your heart.

Just like…

“Is there anything I can do for you, Jessie?” Her voice cut through the heavy silence she didn’t even notice, just a mere whisper but meaningful all the same. Jessie let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding while scolding herself for letting her thoughts drift into such dangerous territory like that. Losing her face in this kind of situation was nothing her old self would have ever allowed, but she was no longer strong or collected, if she truly ever was that is. Talk about self-control.

It was more than obvious that Dawn didn’t believe her, probably never did whenever they had this conversation which was far more often than Jessie would have liked to admit. Her sneakiness vanished a long time ago, together with her unpredictableness, which she used to take a lot of pride in. Not like there was a lot left to be proud of when it came to this body and this kind of existence anyways.

She truly wanted to tell the smaller girl that she already did too much for her, there was nothing that could be done to resolve this issue, but her lips refused to part so the words stayed inside, trapped behind her false pride. Acting prideful and breaking on the inside was something she was always good at.

“Just go back to sleep… It’s alright, _really_.” She tried to sound as reassuring as possible, but it sounded hollow even to her own ears. Dawn pulled a face but knew better than to press on so she decided to head back to her room, not before whispering a small “good night” though.

Feeling even worse than before, Jessie made her way back to her own room as well. She hated seeing the younger girl upset, but this was better than telling her the truth. She would only be more on edge and that was the last thing she wanted.

With another heavy sigh, her body fell onto the huge bed, sinking into the soft mattress like jumping into a fluffy cloud of cotton. She used to be absolutely ecstatic about this jewel of furniture, yet even the feeling of silk sheets running through her fingers couldn’t conquer the clenching of her guts.

At first, she simply started feeling uncomfortable, as if she didn’t quite fit into her own skin. It was a bit weird, but truthfully, she wasn’t quite as confident in her own self as she pretended to be so she just shrugged it off as a weird mood swing. Instead of disappearing, the feeling lingered and that’s when she started to get concerned. She didn’t dare say anything, she was already causing Dawn and her friends a lot of trouble by staying at their place, she couldn’t possibly burden them with her personal issues as well.

However, she did tell them about it when the discomfort turned into a dull throbbing a week ago. Not like she planned to, but it was becoming more and more difficult to hide. It was really awkward and she simply expected them to shrug it off like she did at first, but to her utmost surprise, she was met with nothing but concern and sympathy. Not being used to having so much warmth directed at her, it took her all of her self-control to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over. She wouldn’t sink that low yet, even if it was Dawn.

With all of Dawn’s connections, many people were consulted and the cause of her distress was found easily: her artificial body was simply starting to malfunction after not seeking maintenance for too many years. All in itself, this wasn’t a big deal. It was just her luck that things never were as simple as that. If she was just a normal, officially created android, a bit of (way too much) money was all it took to fix her.

Unfortunately, her case was different since James built her from the scrap in a time where the whole android-concept was still at its beginning of development and everything was highly confidential. Because of these circumstances he was forced to conserve her soul and build her new vessel in a less conventional manner which lead to her whole construction and programming differing from the main model. In order to maintain her, the mechanic would have to examine and analyze her and no one could afford such a service.

Her only choice was to wait until her body completely stopped functioning. The thought was really scary but she was more curious than anything. She couldn’t help but wonder what would happen.  
Would it hurt? Would it happen all of a sudden or slowly, like falling asleep? Would her soul escape her body and finally vanish after all these unbearable years?

With a sigh, she slowly closed her eyes while trying to relax for a few more hours in her bed until she would have to get up for real. She would give anything to just stop thinking but now that her attention had drifted to him, there was no escaping her racing mind. She wasn’t mad at him, could never be, not only because of this bound love for her creator, but also because of her very own, very human affection towards her best friend.

It hurt a lot but she knew exactly how much effort he put into saving her, how he wasted countless years to optimize her body and contain her soul so it would stay undamaged. He experimented and designed until way after midnight

 _“It’s not fair…”_ , she mumbled to herself, clutching her chest but this specific pain was not caused by her body giving out on her. She barely registered the silent tears escaping her eyes and slowly sliding down her cheeks as she helplessly repeated these three words.

He spent so much time on this. He gave her this eternal body as his last gift, his personal life goal all dedicated to her and it would end just like that? She wouldn’t even meet him again? Wouldn’t be able to confirm his well being with her own eyes, wouldn’t be able to say ‘farewell’ and “thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me’?

Just like countless nights before she didn’t get even a wink of sleep. Instead she simply let out her sadness and pent up frustration, hidden behind the shelter of her small room – begging, _praying_ for one last chance, one more day with the person who gave her everything and took it all away all the same.

Some things don’t change, no matter how much time passes. She always liked to tell herself that she would be just fine alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, now I kinda hurt myself but it's no otp if there is no angst.


End file.
